Now if you are like some Americans, part of you is happy for life to return to normal, and another part of you is experiencing what some psychologists call “re-entry anxiety” after quarantines, lock downs and seemingly video meetings for two plus years. According to a report from the American Psychological Association (APA), nearly 50% of Americans have expressed that they feel some anxiety regarding resuming in-person interactions post-pandemic.
This is a Normal Reaction to a Very Stressful Situation
Mental health experts have suggested there are two groups of people that will most likely experience re-entry anxiety. One of those groups is people who have a lingering fear that they will either catch or help to spread the disease or the new strains of COVID that seem to be cropping up.
The second group are people who feel their social skills have withered while quarantined and may find being around a lot of people and holding their end of the conversation to be very awkward, exhausting and challenging. This blog post- I will focus on the latter group experience social anxiety.
It is important to mention that while you may be feeling anxious about full- re-entry into society; meeting with peers and clients in person, avoiding social situations will only make your anxiety worse. In fact, experts agree the longer you avoid the thing that makes you anxious, the harder it will be to face it.
What may help is to set small goals for yourself. For instance, you may want to set up small get-togethers with one or two others to start. Don’t feel the need to jump in the deep end right away, slowly acclimatize yourself to start.
Getting Help for Your Anxiety
We’ve all got to remember that we’ve faced a big trauma in 2020 that went in to 2021. Some workplaces just started regular in person activities late 2022 and 2023! Not just an illness that we knew little about and was thought to sit active for hours on surfaces, later we learned it was more of an airborne droplet issue.
Then there was the economic impact and questions of freedom. We cannot recall a time in which government told us “who gets to work because they are essential and who does not get to work.” So let’s be gentle with ourselves. Until then, do the best you can do and ask for help when you need it.
Speaking with a trained therapist can be highly effective for people dealing with stress and anxiety. A therapist can help you navigate your emotions and offer tools to move through the anxiety, not avoid it.
If you would like to explore treatment for social anxiety symptoms, please get in touch with me. I’d be more than happy to discuss how I may be able to help.
RESOURCES:
- https://www.advisory.com/daily-briefing/2021/03/30/reentry-anxiety
- https://psychcentral.com/health/on-your-own-terms-why-it-is-important-to-set-boundaries-emerging-from-isolation
- https://www.psychologytoday.com/intl/blog/sustainable-life-satisfaction/202103/5-tips-manage-social-anxiety-post-vaccination
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